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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Practice Makes Perfect

Denis Gurianov’s overtime one-timer was the product of many hours spent after practice. Plus, the future of Rick Bowness in Big D, the Islanders force Game 6, and more.

Denis Gurianov’s overtime winner on Monday was so clean, so perfect, you could swear he’s done it a hundred times.

Well, he has actually — the Dallas Stars winger has spent a lot of time working on his one-timer, and it all paid off on the biggest stage of his young NHL career:

“Every practice, he’s taking so many one-timers,” Stars center Tyler Seguin said. “He’s out there early, he stays on late. There’s been no conversations with him being a rookie, saying ‘Hey you’ve got to do this. You’ve got to do that.’ He’s pretty great at just being humble and doing those things automatically.”

Despite being a rookie, Gurianov is currently tied with Joe Pavelski for the team lead in goals scored. But the young Russian is less concerned about stats and more about the bigger picture:

“I just come in the locker room before the game and just try to play my game,” Gurianov said when asked what his focus is. “I don’t think about anything like how many goals I scored or how many assists I got or how many games I’ve played. Every game is a new experience for me, and I just try to play my game, do my best and help my team to win.”

You can read more from Mike Heika here.

Stars Stories

Sean Shapiro takes a retrospective of Gurianov’s path to playoff glory since he was drafted four years ago:

As if it wasn’t a forgone conclusion, Jim Nill has made it clear that the full time head coaching gig belongs to Rick Bowness if he wants it:

Miro Heiskanen has been getting lots of attention this postseason, but don’t forget about John Klingberg:

I for one hate the puck-over-the-glass rule, but I’m sharing a defense of it since it benefited Dallas:

On a serious note, here’s what professional chirp scribe Thomas Drance had to say about a controversial soundbite from Game 5:

Around the League

The Stars are going to get some extra rest, thanks to the New York Islanders forcing a Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 2-1 double overtime win:

Jonas Brodin has signed a seven year contract extension with the Minnesota Wild worth $7M annually and a full NMC for the first four years:

Which position should Dallas target in the NHL Entry Draft? Corey Pronman offers his thoughts for all 31 teams:

The Washington Capitals have named Peter Laviolette as their new head coach. Is another Stanley Cup in their future?

Finally...

Let’s just all take another moment to reflect on what a crazy, amazing ride this postseason has been:

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